Rion finished explaining his plans for the feast, and everyone stared at him in daze.

His plan was simple, and the issue was nothing but human ego and pride.

To join the groups under one leadership, he would have to break through that barrier of pride, and that too, in a way that didn't make it feel meaningless.

He could ask the Den Lord and Vice Lord to force the group leaders into following his methods, but that would leave room for internal issues that he didn't want until the war against The Remnant, and he also wanted to prove himself to everyone.

"Are you sure this would work?" Dora asked worriedly.

Rion was pulled out of his thoughts by her voice. He looked at her and smiled despite understanding the difficulty of what he wanted to achieve.

"It would be hard, but we have to do it for our dreams and our freedom."

His words drew them into a world of vibrant colours, a world different from endless savagery.

Thud!

Suddenly, Cuba's knee hit the ground, and he declared, "You can command me as you wish. My liege!"

The others followed.

"You can command me as you wish. My liege!"

Rion's smile widened. He turned his head towards the Redwood Den and ordered, "All squad leaders will act as my messengers and invite the group leaders to the feast three days from now."

His gaze shifted back to his group members, and he added, "And all squad members must gather all of the current gatherers. Everyone except the trainees."

All of them placed a fist on their hearts, and the air trembled as they roared with determination blazing in their eyes, "As you command. My liege!"

Rion grinned, and the world darkened as the sun dipped below the horizon.

He gazed at the peeking moon and said humorously, "Do it tomorrow."

Their determined expressions faltered slightly, Rion let out a hearty chuckle and turned around.

"Follow behind me."

They stood up, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze shifted towards the three rebels and their squads as he muttered, "You three as well."

Armin shot up to his feet, and his lips parted to carry out his disagreement, but before he could let out a single word, his world shuddered.

He froze on the spot, his heart refused to beat, and a bead of sweat rolled down his face as he looked into Rion's cold eyes.

His eyes quivered, and he tried to open his lips, but they refused to listen.

Rion's gaze turned colder than ice, and his aura pressed down on all three of them as he stated once again,

"You three as well."

They shuddered, and Moria muttered in his naturally thin voice, "A-As you say!"

Hearing his voice, the glacier in Rion's eyes melted instantly, and he remarked inwardly, 'What the hell was that rat-like voice?! No wonder he doesn't speak!'

Outwardly, he kept a calm expression, but if one focused on his lips, they would've seen them trembling to lift.

The others stared at Moria while holding in their laughter, and Balak said, "Let's continue on our way, my liege."

Rion nodded, and his steps picked up once again.

The ground trembled as they followed behind him like trained troops, and before long, they entered the southeastern end of the Redwood Den.

The southeastern site had Tarek's as well as his squad leaders' huts, and right now, Rion was there to claim them.

The group leader's hut was the size of his home, while the squad leader's hut was a bit smaller, similar to how it was in the Redwood Basin.

He scanned the huts before him and commanded, "Everyone, leave. Balak, you show Dora, Yuura, Tarun and Karhun their huts."

"As you command," Balak replied, and everyone dispersed.

Rion moved forward and reached his hut.

He softly pushed the door and looked inside. The hut was similar to his parents', but it was too clean.

"The guards cleaned it, huh..." he mumbled under his breath and stepped inside.

Tarek was just as curious as he was, so he had expected to find something of worth in his hut, but the guards had already taken care of it.

The guards were the ones who delivered the missions, orders of the vice lord and den lord to the groups, while the weakest of them were chosen for the duty or fence guards.

Usually, traumatised and disabled squad members became part of the redwood guards while the criminals and those with bad behaviour became miners at the eastern mining camp.

"I should've come early," he remarked, closed the door behind him and placed his spear by the wall.

He looked around the hut for a few minutes before he just decided to forget about getting anything from here.

He fell on the bed and stared at the ceiling with a reminiscing sheen in his eyes.

'Sixteen years have passed... so much has changed, I have even started to forget the things from the earth.'

A beautiful smile took hold of his lips, and his heart beat calmly as his eyelids fell and he entered the embrace of sleep.

—

Haden, as usual, stood at the top of the southern peak, his hair moved majestically with the night breeze, and his red eyes fixed on the deep purple fog forest.

Suddenly, steps resounded beside him. He turned his head towards the sound, and his gaze fell on Marin, who was already kneeling to him.

"Stand."

Marin didn't stand up; instead, he looked into Haden's eyes and asked, "Do you remember why I followed you to these mountains, my liege?"

A ripple appeared in Haden's eyes, and he stated, "You wanted to be the initiator of a kingdom." He stepped closer, looked down on him and added, "Specifically, the Dhaevrak Goddom."

Marin's lips twisted into a crazed smile, and he muttered in a cheery tone, "Indeed."

Haden turned back to the south and said, "I believe you are making use of my son for your dreams?"

Marin frowned deeply. He shook his head and lifted his open palms towards the night sky as he said, "I am just following the wish of the blue moon."

Haden stayed silent.

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